By 1790 about 4,000 Acadians occupied the wetlands along Bayou Lafourche and Bayou Teche; they later settled the Louisiana prairies.
In the fertile bayous they fished, trapped the fur-bearing animals, gathered moss, and raised sugarcane, cotton, and corn; on the prairies they established cattle ranches and planted rice.
Their traditional domestic architecture consisted of daubed or half-timbered houses with gable roofs, mud chimneys, and outside stairways leading to attics.
The landholdings were often surrounded by the characteristic pieux, a rail-and-post fence.
The French-speaking, Roman Catholic Cajuns, today estimated to number about 500,000, maintain many cultural and occupational traditions of their ancestors.
Their speech is an archaic form of French into which are incorporated words taken from English, German, Spanish, and various Indian languages.
With the decline of the muskrat in the wetlands, the nutria, an import from Argentina, became the Cajun trapper's staple.
Oystering and shrimping are increasingly important industries. Recently, the exploratory drilling for oil in the wetlands and adjacent offshore areas has provided the Cajuns with another source of employment.
